Practice management

Commentary: As independent health insurance agents, you can help your clients understand how taxes and health insurance intersect, building your credibility as a knowledgeable agent in the process. These guidelines will help you prepare your clients for a smooth tax season.

Commentary: Brokers who can step in and learn the business of voluntary benefits and some of the newer products hitting the market will be well-suited to bring in new clients and keep them protected against financial loss with a combination of relevant and cost-efficient solutions, says AmWINS' Sam Fleet.

Commentary: There’s a lot for your clients to consider when carefully managing intermittent leaves. The Standard's Lincoln Dirks goes in-depth on the paperwork that outlines the parameters for an absence — certifications and recertifications.

Commentary: A number of large plan sponsors have dumped all of their actively managed funds, including for better fiduciary compliance. Is it a good idea?

Increasingly diverse workforces are creating a benefit communications challenge for employers and their advisers.

Is it legal for employers to drop health care coverage and pay for employees to go to the exchanges? One industry expert says yes — if you use this payroll option.

Commentary: With the use of intermittent leave, a type of Family and Medical Leave Act job protection, on the rise, The Standard's Lincoln Dirks says this type of leave potentially may become a growing burden for your clients.

Between new players entering the insurance business and a new generation poised to dominate their sales base, brokers must re-evaluate the way they do business.

HHS has issued a final rule saying it will not qualify employer-sponsored health plans that fail to cover inpatient hospitalization as meeting the minimum value health plan standard under the ACA.

AXA S.A. is entering the U.S. employee benefits market, citing its assessment that employers with between 20 and 200 employees are under-served.

Eastbridge Consulting research finds brokers are the dominant distribution channel, but they must use their position wisely to curb dropping participation rates.

The many tradeoffs that health insurers had to make from both a regulatory and plan-design standpoint in order to adapt under the Affordable Care Act appear to be paying off as the landmark legislation approaches its five-year mark.

Legislators urge brokers to contact Congress to help shape future policies.

Embracing private exchange solutions is, some say, imperative for brokers who want to survive in the industry, yet many remain confused about just how to do so.

More tools are needed to support brokers as they help consumers navigate the complex health care law, Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan says.

The IRS and Dept. of Treasury are seeking comments on several issues related to the Cadillac tax, including what constitutes employer-sponsored coverage and different approaches for determining the cost of applicable coverage.

Employees are sitting too long, not using all their vacation, survey finds.

Assurant Health says it will no longer pay commissions on new business in certain markets, a move the carrier calls a sales approach, but some industry experts say is part of a trend that’s pushing agents out of business.

With the support of the White House, the DOL today submitted to OMB its revised fiduciary rule proposal for retirement brokers, a move industry stakeholders are calling an ‘attack’ on retirement advisers.

The plan would require brokers to act in a customer’s best interest, a change that could limit the earnings of financial advisers.